Middle East

Jan. 31, 2015 | 12:29 AM

Al-Qaeda in Yemen says France top enemy

A Houthi fighter carries a poster of the Houthi movement's leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, as he secures a street near a gathering of the movement's followers in Sanaa January 30, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

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The ideological leader of Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula said Friday that France had surpassed the United States as the top enemy of Islam, as Shiite rebels violently dispersed demonstrations called to denounce the rebels' power grab.

U.S. intelligence agencies consider AQAP to be the most dangerous branch of the jihadi network.

Rubaish Friday urged attacks on the West, singling out France.

Yemeni political parties are continuing talks with the U.N. envoy to Yemen, Jamal Benomar, over the possible formation of a presidential council to lead the country following the Jan. 22 resignation of President Abed Rabbou Mansour Hadi and his Cabinet.The Houthis have taken up positions in and around defense and intelligence installations whose teams had previously cooperated with Washington, cutting off key sources of information for drone-missile attacks, U.S. officials told Reuters, rendering the U.S. drone program against AQAP more difficult.

Gaps in on-the-ground intelligence could slow America's fight against the resurgent Al-Qaeda branch in Yemen and heighten the risk of errant strikes that kill the wrong people and stoke anti-U.S. sentiment, potentially making the militants even stronger in areas where AQAP is already growing.